Statue of King Senkamanisken, Nubian, 643–623 B.C. Granite gneiss. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Harvard University-Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition. Photograph © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Understanding Ancient Nubia from Antiquity to Today
GETTY VILLA
The Getty Villa and Online
This is a past event
Why don’t we know more about Nubia? Archaeologist Debora Heard discusses past approaches to understanding this ancient culture and why its importance in history was often unfairly overlooked. She analyzes the range of historical attitudes and perceptions held by the ancient Egyptians, Greek and Roman historians, and 19th- and 20th-century Black writers and historians, then presents new scholarship which is bringing this early African civilization into clearer focus.
Enjoy refreshments and conversation following the talk in the Auditorium lobby.
Visit the exhibition Nubia: Jewels of Ancient Sudan from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston on view through April 3, 2023. To enhance your visit, listen to a free exhibition audio guide available on the GettyGuide app.
About the Speaker
Debora Heard is an archaeology PhD candidate in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Chicago, specializing in Nubian archaeology and Egyptian history and language. Her research interests focus on the history, religion, politics, and women of ancient Nubia and Egypt. Multidisciplinary in her training, she integrates anthropology, archaeology, Egyptology, Nubian Studies, African Studies, and Africana Studies in her approach and analysis of ancient Nile Valley societies.